When the Nets returned from a real swell back-to-back set of defeats in Boston and Milwaukee this week, where the only thing lower than their combined shooting percentage was Pedro Martinez’ ERA, they looked at the schedule. Awaiting them were three home games and the NBA’s version of a present under the tree, a game against the Bulls. The Nets thought of a four-game win streak to start the New Year.

The first home game in the segment was Saturday against Miami.

The Nets are thinking three-game win streak to start the New Year.

“Obviously, it’s a three-game streak (for a goal),” said Byron Scott, who gave his battered team Christmas Day off before seeking to end a four-game losing streak tonight in the Meadowlands against the Hawks.

After the Hawks, a team the Nets beat in Atlanta with a terrific endgame performance 10 days ago, the Nets will face the Celtics – a team where the Nets struggled with in the endgame and the front game and the middle game.

“Again, it’s two teams that to me are very beatable. I knew Miami was going to be tough,” Scott claimed. “They’ve got four guys who could be all-stars and we did a good job playing them as tough as we did (86-80). Atlanta, they’re going to be tough, too. They beat New York, Toronto in Toronto, they beat Indiana. There’s no guarantees with either Atlanta or Boston. We’ve got our work cut out for us. If we play close to the way we played [Saturday] on the defensive end, I’ll be happy. I think we’ll win both games.”

The Nets desperately need a run of winning play. There have been far too many moral victories and not nearly enough real ones. Want a scary thought? They’re exactly where they were a year ago, at 9-18. Worse, is that they were 6-4 earlier, so they’ve lost 14 of 17. But players insist that this is nothing like last year. Forget the same record. Forget an even worse shooting percentage. It is better.

“We just have to make a conscious effort as far as doing the same things when we made stops [recently],” said Stephon Marbury, renewing his call for stronger defense. “We’ve got to continue to play. We can’t go into any game thinking that [they’re favored to win]. We can’t get relaxed. We can’t look at Chicago as a bad team or Atlanta as a bad team. Every team we play against, we have to go out and guard and play.

“This year, it’s totally different,” continued Marbury, coming off a blistering, but futile, 37-point effort against Miami. “Coach is not going to allow that. He’s our leader. We have a leader who emotionally is handling everything. It’s hard for him because this is his first year but by him being the player he was and playing in the tough situations, the bad situations, I think he has endured both sides. He knows what it feels like to win, he knows what it feels like to lose.”

Well, not that much – but Scott is learning. In his 14 seasons, Scott did only one year in hell (a.k.a. Vancouver). The rest were spent winning in Los Angles and Indiana. So losing is sort of new for the coach, but he is nevertheless pleased at some of what he sees. That’s includes a team that is remaining united, despite the .333 winning percentage.

“It is very encouraging. Right now, there are probably three or four teams in this league that have canned it in already,” Scott theorized. “After 25 or 30 games, they probably said, ‘Forget it.’ Our guys haven’t done that. Our guys are sticking in there hanging together staying positive. That’s all I can ask for.”